TheFunPolice

Dion is a great young player, a leader, an has such a positive, inspiring personality.... Plus he's just funny sometimes as well! Who wouldn't want to come to work everyday and be around guys like him? You 100% keep guys like that around. Having guys like that is why this team is so close knit. Plus, it's cool to see an OL being such a key figure on the team and with the fans. They don't always get a lot of love. Forget the discount. Pay the man! YES! Pay your best players, who you know are good, and who you know fit the culture. I would rather do that than throw big $$ around in free agency. Not that big free agent signings aren't fun, but if you're going to build through the draft you have to keep your guys around! Championship organizations recognize top talent and pay them what they are worth.

It's going to be tough... There will definitely be positive tests. Anything that opens up in terms of schools and sports will have cases popping up everywhere

Tasker and Brown on WGR just brought up a good point.... MLB has games 5-6 nights a week with tons of travel and lots of contact with numerous teams per week. NFL is one game and one trip per week. Much less mixing between different teams. That could help the NFL.

Love the ability to protect 4 practice squad players Also it's good that you can send a guy back down without waivers That sounds perfect for a guy like Fromm to me... And maybe Wade

oh, and for those who thought the Pegulas were broke.... Terry Pegula is the 8th richest owner in the NFL, right behind Robert Kraft and Arthur Blank. Terry has plenty of $$. He sold his company for 4.8 billion in cash. The Bills cost 1.4 billion and the Sabres for 189 million (.180 billion). Both were cash purchases. Zero debt. Add those up and he purchased both teams and still had 3.2 billion in cash left over just from the sale to Shell. That's also assuming he didn't have a dime other than that one sale, which is incorrect. In short, he has plenty of money. All the talk of the Sabres losing $$ is probably because guys with lots of money don't enjoy losing 10+ million a year on anything, regardless of their ability to absorb it.

It's sort of what he did before... Buy low, sell high. Say whatever you want about how they've run the Sabres (they seem to have gotten it right with the Bean and McDermott hires on the Bills) the guy knows how to make $$ in the energy industry.

Didn't they say outdoor gatherings could be 500 and fewer in NJ? Couldn't they have 500 fans then? I imagine those could be some exclusive tickets. I was thinking about this the other day.... Think about playing backyard football with your buddies, or pickup basketball. There were (probably) no fans, but did it make you care any less or play half speed? Plus these guys know there are millions watching on TV.

Didn't NBA just report zero positive tests? I think we will see HS and college football played in the spring/winter. They can't afford the additional costs, and especially colleges need fans if possible. Possible plans are already in place for HS football in NY being played March-May. College could easily follow suit. If the Bills make the playoffs and have a home playoff game in January, it just lends itself to mask wearing for fans. It will be freezing and most will wear scarves anyway!

I wonder if teams would be able to have a certain number of "exclusive" practice squad slots to stash a few extra players in case of an outbreak. That way no other team could poach all your reserves that know the game plans and playbooks on you at the last minute, leaving you scrambling to sign anyone to play a game without time to prepare.

Not sure about this, but I've heard that contract tracer training in NY State states that in order for someone to be considered "exposed" they have to have been in close proximity to an infected person for 15+ minutes. It isn't just that you were around someone or may have been in the same room/space. They were talking about that standard on the Sirius NFL channel this morning. Under that standard, the playing of the games themselves are the safest part of the return. It's more the plane/bus rides and meetings that could be risky, along with standing close on the sidelines. They were also talking about players and coaches/staff wearing tracking devices at all times while in the facility and during games. That way, exposure time to an infected person could be calculated and if over 15 minutes (cumulative) would result in quarantine of that person until 2 negative tests. In other words, a few minutes here, a few minutes there could add up to 15. But just tackling someone who had Covid would not likely result in quarantine. Players would still be tested every day or 2 days, depending on level of infection. All of this tells me that they can play, and probably will. I think expanded practice squads with looser rules for calling players up are likely.

Things seem under control in NY, especially WNY, but with Florida, Texas, Arizona and California looking as bad as ever I worry that there isn't going to be a season at all. I can't see how it happens, but if it is even 1% possible, the NFL will find a way to make it happen.

Jim Cornette, who wrestling fans would know well, has a YouTube channel where he talks about wrestling and takes questions from fans. One fan recently asked him about what Vince is really like, and his answer was Vince would cut your freaking heart out and then 2 weeks later see you on the street and say "Hey Pal!" and ask about your family like nothing ever happened. The guy is a totally cold blooded businessman, but apparently doesn't get that anyone could take business personally. It's just about dollars and cents to him, a game to be played and not just won but dominated and destroyed. Personal feelings rarely come into it. He has told a lot of stories about working with Vince and what he's like. Food is fuel, nothing more. Every little detail has to be just the way he wants. Eating and sleeping are necessary annoyances because they get in the way of work. Vince is a super intense type A personality to the extreme. The dude is more ripped at age 74 than some of the current wrestlers. So I could totally see him doing something like this. It fits the mold perfectly.

Brown always sounds miserable to me when he's on

From today's press conference in Buffalo... Gov. encourages professional teams in NY to reopen and prepare to play games, but without fans. Considering the situation, this is good news I think! Obviously we would want everything normal, but games at least going on is a win.

Green Bay has truly wasted Rogers career for the most part. Could have won multiple Super Bowls.

Players are going to be aware of the enormous audience watching on TV, so they will put on a show as much as ever! Plus, guys get crazy competitive playing 2 on 2 basketball in the off season at 10 am on a Tuesday morning in March when nobody even knows the game is going on. I don't think that will be any kind of issue.

They had an iconic NFL logo and ruined it... Nike must be salivating at the thought of turning Green Bay, Pittsburgh, KC, and Chicago uniforms into monstrosities!

If they had a drive in option at home stadiums they could put giant video boards in the stadium to show the crows inside and pump in the noise as well. It could be a cool thing to add to the TV broadcasts as well. That way there is a reaction when there is a big play or a score. I might actually be more inclined to sit in my truck just for the experience of what something like that would be like. I think people would do it as a way to support their teams! Another idea: let fans buy a "virtual ticket" You get some sort of unique team gear AND have a way to send a live feed of yourself celebrating from the living room of your house. These could be broadcast in the stadium in a collage format (like a gigantic Zoom meeting). A little bit like the fans behind Goddell during the draft, but better and bigger. People could get really into it, dressing up, doing creative things, knowing they would be shown on TV when the Bills score or make a big play. There are ways to play the games without fans in the stadium that could still involve the fans and add some life to the stadium experience! I think if it is done well it could come across really well on the TV product, as well. Maybe the only game with fans actually in attendance all year is the Super Bowl. Imagine the emotion of that production in that case, especially when America's Team (the Bills!) win it all for the first time!

Why don't NFL teams just do this in the parking lots of home stadiums and charge a small entry fee? They could even sell concessions and have carhops deliver them to vehicles. People could order and pay using an app. When the home team scores everyone could honk horns and yell out the windows to celebrate. I'm sure people would be creative. Everyone stays in their vehicles, so it's socially distanced. Even better, sell "drive in tickets" and "stadium tickets." Stadium tickets normal price, parking lot tickets vastly reduced price. Stadium can have 20% of capacity spread out. Plus the parking lot tickets of say 5,000 or so cars (each with multiple people probably) and you're already in the neighborhood of a crowd for a Chargers game anyway!

Whatever causes the most misery for Patriots fans I root for! Also, I'm fascinated to see how the Bucs look.... I also don't feel very negative about Brady anymore... I won't root for him, but to me he's a guy like Brees who I could take or leave... I don't have any emotional investment in the Saints winning or losing, although I enjoy watching them play. As soon as the uniform of the evil empire came off his back Brady just became an interesting story to me. If he and Gronk do well while NE struggles, all the better!

everyone wants to watch Belichick squirm under the bright lights

so we can all enjoy watching them get demolished!

teams travel in a bubble... I doubt chartered planes, chartered buses, and secure meeting rooms in hotels pose much, if any, risk to the players. The big change is that nobody will be allowed to leave the hotel when on the road, IMO. They will probably not want players interacting with the public in different cities all around the country.

Can someone explain to me why starting with the NFC games in case the season is postponed makes any sense? Is it just in case (for example) they can't play until November, so they need to cut 4 games at that point? Because to me planning for an October start makes the most sense.

Exactly! I think most NFL fans would GLADLY wait until early to mid October for football if it meant a full season with at least some fans. That extra month of delay could make a ton of difference, given that there are multiple trials of half a dozen different vaccines going on all around the world right now, not to mention dozens of studies on effective treatments. In this environment, where all of the world's greatest medical and scientific minds are focused on solving one problem, things are moving at light speed. A month is an eternity.